Eritrean food is very similar to Ethiopian food, albeit with different names for the dishes. For my venture into Eritrean cuisine, I wanted to try dishes that were not common to both countries – as I've cooked and eaten a lot of Ethiopian food in my life – and that I had not tried before. While Italy occupied both countries, they had a somewhat greater influence in Eritrean cuisine and two of the dishes I made reflect it. They were quite good.